Thursday, 29 December 2016

2017 Hopes & Goals

It's that time of year again where I am starting to think about what I would like to achieve in 2017. I don't so much like to make new years resolutions, instead I prefer to think about my hopes and achievable goals for the year ahead. I also like to incorporate fun things into the plan too so in many ways it is almost like a bucket list!

MOVE HOUSE

This is quite a big goal that I hope to achieve in 2017. It's something we have talked about for the majority of this year and plans are in process to get the ball moving, although right now isn't a great time to be looking as there doesn't seem to be much coming on the market. However, we are pretty sure that will change after January and it will be all systems go! I am really excited about this as we have so many ideas about what we'd like from our new home. I love our house at the moment but we definitely need more outside space for the dogs and I am really craving some modern / minimal living style again. I also really want to offer a home to some rescue chickens so as soon as we're settled into the new place this dream will hopefully become a reality!

TRAVEL SOMEWHERE NEW

Travelling to somewhere new is pretty much on my new year goals every year because I really do love to travel and visit new places. There are a few destinations that have been on my hit list for quite a while now - LA, Las Vegas, Japan, Santorini, Copenhagen, Finland..... In 2017 I would like to tick as least two of these off my list! Flying used to really play havoc with my anxiety levels but since doing lots of short flights this year I feel fairy confident about it again. I'm not sure i'm ready to go anywhere super far away just yet so maybe Santorini would be more of an achievable goal than Japan. Even just thinking about these trips gets me so excited for the new year. I especially love to take some time out in January to plan our travels for the year ahead and break the year up with small excursions here and there. There are also some regular more local trips we love to do every year like Brighton!

BLOG MAKEOVER

Every year since I started this blog (2 years ago) I have bought a new website template in order to change things up a little and for it to feel like a fresh start in a new year. I get very bored quite quickly when things stay the same and I also like to mix things up and keep things interesting for my readers. Along with a new template I have also been thinking about a new logo and branding but I am yet to put any proper thought into this. I would however like to possibly get an illustrator to make up something quite unique and special for me and something that really incorporates all what my blog is about.

STICK TO A REGULAR GYM ROUTINE

As some of you may already know, I re-joined the gym a couple of months ago and really found myself enjoying exercise again. I then had a nasty fall where I hurt myself and wasn't able to walk properly for a week or so which really impacted on my gym attendance. Andy then also had a skateboard accident which put him out of action too! Anyway, the long and short of it is that we fell out of our routine and, with the business of Christmas too, lost our way a bit. Now is the time where we can really devote time and effort to making exercise a priority again and hopefully the 2-3 weeks we have missed won't have impacted on our fitness levels too bad. I would also like to ensure that the gym now becomes a part of our lifestyle, rather than something we dip in and out of when we feel like it.

EAR PIERCINGS

I feel slightly nervous to put this out there and onto this list as it's something that really scares me but it's also something I really want to have done! For the whole of 2016 I really wanted to have a couple of extra holes put in one of my ears but I have never managed to pluck up the courage to just do it. I watched both fellow vloggers Tanya Burr and Gabriella Lindley get theirs done this year which reinforced to me how much I want mine done too. Both of them seemed to handle it pretty well so I am sure I will be fine. It's just something I need to do! I already have one hole in each year but I was pretty young when I had them done so I don't really remember too much about it. But you guys know how squeamish I can get so hopefully you understand why this feels like a big deal to me!

SPEND MORE TIME AT THE OFFICE

Just before Christmas Andy and I spent a few afternoons over at his office to get some work done and it really made so much difference to my productivity levels. I really enjoyed going somewhere else to 'work' and found that I was much less distracted than I am at home. I also felt way more creative and inspired sat at a proper desk in a real working environment. I think even if I schedule this in twice a week it would make a huge difference. So I already know that what with this goal and the gym, schedule and routine is going to be so important in 2017!

LEARN PHOTOSHOP

I enrolled myself onto a photography course last year which I really enjoyed and I found that it really helped me to kick the new year off in a motivated and focused way. I would therefore quite like to start 2017 on the same note and, when considering some areas I would like to improve in, Photoshop is definitely something I need some training on. I did use photoshop a lot when I was at uni (* about 13 years ago!) but a lot has changed since then and I also went a long period post uni when I didn't ever use Photoshop. I am therefore going to find a course where I can brush up on these skills and hopefully feel more confident when it comes to editing my photographs.

LEARN FINAL CUT PRO

2016 has been the year I got into YouTube and making videos - something I never thought I would do. With that has come a whole host of hurdles and things to learn which thankfully my husband was able to help and guide me through. The only video editing software I feel confident using at the moment is iMovie which I have to say does a pretty good job for the kind of videos I am making. I am aware though that everyone generally uses Final Cut Pro and that this is a more advanced and professional video editing software. At some point in 2017 I would therefore like to get to grips with this a bit more and perhaps start using Final Cut instead of iMovie.

VOLUNTEER WITH ANIMALS

This is something that I have wanted to do for so long but for many reasons I haven't been able to. It was on my hopes and goals list for 2016 and I am also carrying it over onto this new list for 2017. As soon as a volunteering event comes up I am booking myself in because I know how rewarding this kind of work can be and I would really love to give something back to the animals who live in sanctuaries.

I feel that all of the goals I have set myself are realistic and achievable and I am actually really looking forward to getting started on them! In fact, there's no time like the present, so I am off to do some research online into local courses to see what is available.

Oh my stars, so many goals! I hope you get everything you want in 2017 :) you so deserve it! Getting your ears pierced will be fine lovely, I had my first holes done when I was young, then second holes done when I was much older. Even if it goes a bit wrong, it's only through your ear lobe (right?) so it can't be really damaged or hurt :) and if anything does go wrong, like for me when they tried twice and couldn't get the stud to go all the way through, they knocked £10 off the price! I was pretty chuffed getting them pierced plus the ear rings for only a tenner ;) it'll look awesome afterwards too!

Where are you thinking of going to volunteer? I've volunteered at Friend in the past and I loved it. I have plans to head back there on the third Saturday of each month for their volunteer days whilst I'm in this part of the country. Also, as a trained body piercer, I wanna encourage you to get your ears pierced somewhere reputable like Punktured in Brighton rather than anywhere where they'll use a gun. They're not hygienic or safe and the jewellery they use is terrible quality. If I still worked at Punktured I'd totally be volunteering to pierce you but you'll be in safe hands with my former colleagues.

Happy New Year Sarah! These seem like really good, achievable goals to me. I have quite a lot of writing related goals for 2017 - I'd like to finish and have published at least one short story, and try to submit work for other competitions and publications too. I also want to get pierced (my septum, specifically) but am not sure how long it'll be before I feel confident enough to go in for it!

It's really inspiring hearing your travel goals as someone who really suffers with travel/flying anxiety. My longest flights over the last two years have been to Greek islands - it's a good distance in terms of not being too long and I'm sure you'd be able to handle it without any issues! xx

Great post. It's very important to set your goals and move toward them. I wish you to bring them to life. For me, one of the main goals is connected with education. I think that we should pay a special attention to this. Education is a very important thing. We should do everything to make it as good as possible. But students also should do their best For example, studying at the university. I think the probably the main thing is that you should write your works as best as possible, you should be a good writer. If you want to improve your writing skills, here you can find out how to develop your imagination.